An inspiration, Cross words, Who's a bigot?

Thank you, Kenneth Burns, for a moving story about the three wounded vets, Scott Kruchten, Susan Sonnheim and Lamar Deuel ("The Wounds of War," 1/18/08). They stand as an inspiration to us all for doing their duty, accepting the risks of that commitment and heroically dealing with the hardships of working their way back to an accommodation with their injuries. They deserve our full support for what they have done to keep us safe.

Bill Richardson, Middleton

Cross words

Isthmus maligned me without interviewing me in Bill Lueders' report on a rural development in Cross Plains (Watchdog, 1/25/08). It cites attorney Jim Mueller as its source.

Isthmus errs by saying I "dismissed" concerns about the town's one-house-per-35-acre rule. No, what I did was to document that our plan also allows higher densities.

Isthmus claimed I said that our town plan, whether current or comprehensive, is "simply a guideline." No, the law said it, via a state statute and an Appeals Court decision, respectively.

Isthmus quoted me as saying we could decide Fagan's petition "irrespective of our land use plan." No, in context, I said our plan could support either approval or denial, and we cannot decide until we process it. That's due process and equal protection of the law.

Isthmus maligned me by saying I "opined" that commissioners who disagree with me are "derelict in their duties." I neither said nor think that absurdity. In context, I said they would be derelict if they violated the town's adopted procedures for planning.

Lastly, attorney Mueller's fantasies alleging "schemes" are unsubstantiated and untrue. He represents Katy Reeder, who has a $2 million development in process across the street from the Fagan proposal and who petitioned our town for rural development on Reeder's land near Airport Road. So he works for a developer's welfare, not that of the town. Neither he nor Reeder even live in our town. Did Mueller not level with Isthmus?

Bob Bowman, Member, Town of Cross Plains board

Bill Lueders replies: A transcript of Bob Bowman's remarks can be found at www.townofcrossplains.info (see post on Jan. 7 meeting, then "Transcript of Agenda Item 2 Discussion"). So far as I know, the accuracy of this transcript is not in dispute. Readers can check it to see that the quotes I attributed to Bowman are accurate and, I believe, in context, although he's entitled to his quibbles over semantics.

As for Bowman feeling maligned, I'll note that besides saying "we would have an obligation to remove" plan commission members deemed "derelict in their duties," he stated: "[I]f the commission doesn't want to follow written procedures, then they should simply step off the commission and let somebody on who will."

Bauman also said, after giving his interpretation of the commission's powers relative to those of the town board, "If you're not convinced of that, I think you're in the wrong place for staying on the commission."

Who's a bigot?

Rick Berg says Ron Paul is the only bigot in the race ("Be the Decider," 2/1/08). That's kind of like if Goebbels had called Dietrich Bonhoeffer the only racist in Germany.

Every remaining major-party candidate except Ron Paul supports the ongoing holocaust against people of color politely known as the American empire. Every major-party candidate except Ron Paul accepts the criminal wars of aggression in Iraq and Afghanistan that have killed over a million people of color in Iraq alone.

Ron Paul is the only candidate who is explicitly promising to end the empire - eliminate the trillionaires' private money monopoly known as the Federal Reserve and its CIA.

Wake up, Rick Berg! Your tax dollars are paying for an ongoing racist holocaust, and Ron Paul is the only major-party candidate who opposes it.

Kevin Barrett, Lone Rock

So Rick Berg says Ron Paul is a bigot?

Well, let's see: Ron Paul voted for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. Ron Paul voted to end the racist war on drugs. Ron Paul's supporters sent his campaign $1.85 million on Feb. 21, in honor of Martin Luther King's birthday.

The real bigot is Rick Berg. Berg supports the racist war on drugs. The smear attacks on Ron Paul are part of Berg's plan. Rick Berg enables racism.